Forum	Title	Content	Member	Sex	Country	Date/Time
Philippines	How Long are you Visiting Earth ?	The north won what.. You forgot some of us ain't surrendered yet. Just try spending those Confederate dollars and you'll figure out which side won. Although we may have been a bit better off today had States Rights been kept a bit stronger.	Caryh	Male	Philippines	2012-06-05 09:30:00
Philippines	How Long are you Visiting Earth ?	Breakfast for Americans depends on Location. In the North they eat Hominy, maybe bagel etc I'm wondering how far south your description of North is from me? Around here, hominy is thought of as a southern food. Typical here is bacon, eggs, and either hash browns or american fries. Pancakes and french toast are pretty common to. Since the wife got here though, rice is a staple at many meals. I actually like a breakfast of pork tosino, eggs and rice for breakfast. Dried fish and rice is popular for breakfast to, although I'll need some eggs to go with that. At first would we eat either a Filipino breakfast, which could be anything, or an American breakfast. But I notice slowly its starting to get mixed up. Bacon, eggs and rice, or maybe dried squid, eggs and hash browns. Often the wife will be cooking up something in the kitchen and will ask me to cook up dried fish to go with it. Dried fish only gets cooked outside, so I'm usually the one cooking it. I'm waiting for the day my neighbors are outside and down wind of me cooking it though	Caryh	Male	Philippines	2012-06-04 11:48:00
Philippines	Manila too dangerous for my fiancee to stay there...	The bathroom is under the stairs? Yep, that one. The first room they gave us overlooked the front door and the snack bar. Huge room, but I wanted a queen bed (and a little more privacy), so they moved us the next day. Thats the room! Forgot about the CR under the stairs. Wonder if they ever corrected the flooding problem on that one? But then there was a typhoon when it happened, and you know Manila during typhoons, it could have been 3 feet of water First time I ever stayed there I had this rather strange room. It had its own kitchen area that ran like an alley off the bedroom and along the CR. On the lower level if I remember correctly. I think my favorite room was one on the second level, nice super thick foam on the bed and pretty tall bed to. It was that foam that made it my favorite. Its really hard to find a decent bed in the Philippines. If I move there one day, kind of in the plans, I think I'll ship over a soft sided water bed mattress from the USA.	Caryh	Male	Philippines	2012-06-12 11:50:00
Philippines	Manila too dangerous for my fiancee to stay there...	They have this huge iron gate that they close after hours, for security, but like most places in the Philippines, the employee entrance is left open all night. There was this dog barking behind our room in the early morning hours, and the lobby was empty, so I wandered out the open back door and into the alley. I couldn't see a soul anywhere, but did see the offending doberman behind the steel security grill on the opposite side of the alley. After staring down the dog for a few minutes, it shut up, and I could get back to sleep. Sounds like you had the room that floods out in the rains Lower level in the very back? I got chased out of that room during a typhoon one time. Woke in the morning and we had about an inch of water in room. I remember waking up one night and roaming around the common area, I was still on USA central time. I was bored and couldn't sleep. Darn near stepped on the employee working the night shift, who was sleeping on a mat behind the pool table. It was the same girl who unlocked the gate and let me in at about 1 am after my flight arrival.	Caryh	Male	Philippines	2012-06-12 11:09:00
Philippines	Manila too dangerous for my fiancee to stay there...	That townhouse place is sounding pretty sketchy. I'm thinking that my fiancee won't be staying there. But, she will be eyes-on-the-ground there and some of the information in this thread is pretty old. She can always check it out for herself in person. One thing that she pointed out when she read this thread a few days ago is that no cooking is allowed in the room, so food expenses could easily offset the lower lodging cost. I wouldn't recommend it to a Filipina, its better suited to the western male travelling on a budget. I'm not sure what the place is like now. Used to be half way decent for the price, then went downhill. I was just looking at trip advisor, and I'm thinking it doesn't look like anything has improved.	Caryh	Male	Philippines	2012-06-12 10:48:00
Philippines	Manila too dangerous for my fiancee to stay there...	Thanks for demonstrating the use of an icon. With your "taste" in accommodations, I have no doubt that none of the rooms in Manila you've stayed at were safe. I've never even heard of a Townhouse Hotel until that was posted. And I've lived in Manila for my whole adult life. Newsflash: You have to spend a little more money to get better security & services AND do more research on better options. Try tripadvisor The Carolina Townhouse had been around for years and years. It was originally a hostel for backpackers traveling in the Philippines. I've known many people who have stayed there over the years. You can find it on tripadvisor BTW. Some people love the place, others hate it. Its had its ups and downs over the years is one thing I'm aware of. I enjoyed times I've spent there and the atmosphere until my last visit. Hopefully Bill and Lorna have corrected the problems now and its once again a nice budget place to stay.	Caryh	Male	Philippines	2012-06-12 10:28:00
Philippines	Manila too dangerous for my fiancee to stay there...	The staff always was less than enthusiastic, but if you asked for it, you could usually get it. I was there in January of 2007 for ten days. Once they got used to us after a couple of days, it was like we were family. The bed was comfortable, the A/C worked, and so did the TV. The bath wasn't the best, but then again, Filipinos are not used to hot water, or water pressure. We had to ask for maid service, we didn't know that, but they assigned a girl to the room to take care of us. We had to give her money for soap, but she kept us in clean linens and washed our laundry. I think we ended up giving her around 200 to 250 pesos for the time we were there, and when I tipped her another 50 pesos when we left, she was beaming with delight. She even ran to the store for my wife for 30 pesos and brought back some girl stuff she needed. Yep the staff worked better when you tipped them! Stayed there in 2005, 2007, and 2009. It was 2009 that I stopped staying there. GRO's staying in the hotel and bringing customers in kind of got the wife a little upset Last I heard Bill was cleaning house and doing repairs (guessing that was 2010), but I haven't been by to see how it worked out since then. I did like the place until it made a hard dive down, the price was certainly right. I'm usually only in Manila for two days to adjust on arrival and a day before flying out so there hasn't really been time to swing by. I had hoped he had turned things around there, but I haven't talked with anyone who's stayed there since Bill said he was cleaning things up. If I was going to be alone, I'd book there just to see how things turned out.	Caryh	Male	Philippines	2012-06-11 16:03:00
Philippines	Manila too dangerous for my fiancee to stay there...	We liked Villa Carolina Townhouse Hotel. They are not too far from the embassy, and just a block off of Roxas Blvd. They are dirt cheap, the owners are a FilAm couple, and they attract an interesting international clientele traveling on the cheap. Rooms are basic, can be shared if you want to save money. It is a cross between a hostel and a hotel. If something doesn't work, or you see cockroaches, the staff will fix it right away. You don't get anything you don't ask for, so ask for it if you want it, and they will try to accommodate. They also have airport service and a driver available. They even have a grill in the front and pay for use internet for like 10PP for 15 minutes in the lobby. http://www.angelfire...usehotelmanila/ Have you been there recently? I used to stay there, but things were getting a bit rough and the staff wasn't being too helpful. Was probably back in 2009 that I last stayed there. I heard the Bill was supposed to be working on straightening those issues out, he had been focusing on their place in Boracay and not watching what was going on at the Townhouse. I think even he was a bit surprised with how things had slipped there. Wasn't just physical, it was with the staff and what they were doing, not doing and allowing to occur. Good help is hard to find everywhere I guess.	Caryh	Male	Philippines	2012-06-11 11:40:00
Philippines	Manila too dangerous for my fiancee to stay there...	I just wanted to mention there's some groups on facebook where Filipinas help each other through this process. My wife is a member of some of them. If she wants to connect up with them on FB, I'm sure some can give advice on the areas you've found rentals in. She could also likely have new friends to meet while she's there. If you can swing the cost though, I'd seriously recommend she brings someone from her family with while she spends that time in Manila. My wife went back and forth, but still brought her sister and niece with when she was flying to the USA. They spent a few last days together in Manila before my wife came here. Luckily she had a friend who was living in Manila to visit and get tips from on earlier trips in the process. Amazing how fast all those back and forth trips run up the costs.	Caryh	Male	Philippines	2012-06-06 14:04:00
Philippines	Manila too dangerous for my fiancee to stay there...	I'd try to let her spend as much time as possible with family before she leaves. Keep her near the embassy and she should be fine in Manila. Where does she live in Mindanao that you're so worried? Much of it is very safe, other areas I wouldn't let my wife travel to.	Caryh	Male	Philippines	2012-06-06 09:38:00
Philippines	two weeks in the philippines	I am already married and she is here so it is not an issue. I think I need a job change. Anyone ever looked at their life and thought ? I could make a lot less money and be a lot happier ? Yep, keep thinking about my wife saying come to the Philippines and I'll support you. But I need to live on dried fish and rice	Caryh	Male	Philippines	2012-06-12 16:02:00
Philippines	Sending Originals for the Interview	No one asks to see a copy of your SS card, and yes any data with your SSN on it is putting things out in the breeze, but someone having your original SS card is even more so. They only ask for copies of your BC and divorce decree at CFO. You're forgetting number 4 in the requirements. Other documents as may be required by the counselors As my wife put it as she was gathering up all the info she could on those other documents, "Would you rather have it delayed if they ask for it or send it now?", I saw her logic. Actually knowing how poor security is at most companies' and the government's computers are, I worry more about my information being stolen directly from them.	Caryh	Male	Philippines	2012-06-13 11:48:00
Philippines	Sending Originals for the Interview	Not sure why someone would want to sent the originals of their SS card, divorce decree or even birth certificate when copies are all the embassy wants. Especially the SS card being identity thief is such a concern these days, heck SS even tells you to NOT carry it on your daily. Never DO-DO when DO will DO. Because it made my wife more comfortable, and she had heard of people getting stuck with demands to see the original at the CFO. We did have a discussion about identity theft and being very very careful with any form with so much personal data on it, including guarding the SSN. You're actually handing over all the same data with photo copies of taxes and such. She did get asked at the CFO to see originals of the divorce decree and my birth certificate. I will say it rather pissed me off to be expected to show some of these documents to the CFO. It would be so easy for someone there to be ripping off identities and selling them. Its not so much the SS card, but the SS number, which is the danger in identity theft.	Caryh	Male	Philippines	2012-06-13 08:32:00
Philippines	Sending Originals for the Interview	I sent originals of things I could easily replace. That would not be my passport or naturalization papers, the later I don't have anyway. But I file taxes electronically, so I sent original W2's I had more of the same. Original SS card. Original divorce decree, Birth Certificate, etc... I gave my wife specific instructions to keep originals separated from photocopies and to only leave photocopies is they wanted a copy. My wife felt better having those originals, and she brought them all with her when she arrived. Making her less nervous through the embassy and CFO interviews was worth the risk with replaceable documents.	Caryh	Male	Philippines	2012-06-13 06:31:00
Philippines	Did you bring your photo album during the interview?	I am actually thinking along the same lines with Caryh. I front loaded because I think the process is much harder on the beneficiary than the petitioner. Since you guys already went through it, I am sure you guys understand. It is really difficult to be apart with my fiancee. I will try to do the best I can to ease her burden. It was fun putting our pictures together. I guess I had a head start on completing our family albums. Also, my fiancee wanted to see how work I put in the application. If she sees a flimsy 15 pages, she would be like, "that's like five minutes of your work and 9 months of my burden." Catch my drift. I didn't over do it though. I just made sure it was very complete with redundant evidence. Maybe 12 pictures, but each was date stamped, each had descriptions of the who and where. A lot of the proof of on going relationship stuff was front loaded. Including a description of first first meeting, how it built and multiple trips. Everything was brief, but complete. Maybe 40 pages were in it, I'm not sure how many really, I never counted it is what it is. But each part was divided and labeled. An over all table of contents, with separate more detailed tables of contents on sections that needed it.	Caryh	Male	Philippines	2012-06-16 08:23:00
Philippines	Did you bring your photo album during the interview?	I think a lot of people way overdo the relationship evidence. Several good pictures, several pages of transcripts of chat, money transfer receipts, receipt for ring and of course the required stuff that is spelled out. Here is my opinion. If everything is in order you will sail thru and they will hardly look at anything. I have never heard of anyone being turned down for lack of enough chat transcripts or pictures. Most of the time when someone is turned down, if you dig into the problem it was something else. I am not saying don't take evidence, I am saying the 5lb package you hear talked about hear is absurd, unless it just makes you feel better, then by all means. . In my time here I would say the biggest reasons I hear is lack of proof of income-That is number 1., NBI cert problems, medical problems, CENOMAR problems, criminal history problems. prior marriage problems, Prior K-1 problems. I would be interested to hear what others say. Basically boils down to this -if you make enough and don't lie about anything and your relationship is legit it will be a quick quick interview. They don't have time to grill you for very long. I totally agree. My wife dragged so much information with her just to be sure she had everything. It made her feel better about going knowing no matter what they wanted she would have it. Sum total of what they asked for was zero, they didn't even look at the photos. I did everything I could to help my wife feel confident going to the interview. It didn't matter to me that it took two packages sent Fedex at $100 a pop for her to be satisfied she had enough. If it made her less worried, thats what mattered to me. Now being that prepared for the CFO, that is what I'd recommend. You never know what kind of obscure document they're going to ask to see. But some even breeze through that. Seems strange the outfit that is just supposed to counsel them is now creating interviews that are tougher than the embassy.	Caryh	Male	Philippines	2012-06-15 08:51:00
Philippines	Did you bring your photo album during the interview?	My wife made separate photo albums for ever visit I made, so there was a bunch of photos and albums. I think I sent her a couple hundred photos. She set them up as two photos per page each with a description (who, what, where and when). The CO had already told my then fiancée was approved and ending the interview when he realized he had forgotten to look at the photos. He then asked if she wanted him to look at them, but she said its OK, she's just happy with approval. This leads me to believe if there has already been enough evidence to prove the relationship without a doubt, photos aren't even needed. Although not having them with you might say a lot to. Our I-129F was pretty well front loaded with evidence, including 4 pictures per trip dated with descriptions going back numerous years and trips. Edited by Caryh, 14 June 2012 - 11:45 AM.	Caryh	Male	Philippines	2012-06-14 11:45:00
Philippines	Possible active tb,file or not file AoS	Active TB can disqualify you from entering the US. You should discuss this with the physician that is currently treating you as to when you will no longer show a positve x-ray or sputum as these are the tests u will be subjected to during your medical. Also you need to discuss with your physician the possibility of spreading TB though airports and especially within the confines of an airplane. Base your filing time upon the medical advice your receive. You should even be able file a few months before your completed treatment as u will finish your treatment while awaiting your NOA2/approval. Apparently not always. From her timeline US Entry : 2012-05-26 I really have no idea on why, maybe its actually dormant and not active which is why she was allowed to travel. No idea if it affect the AOS either. But if they allowed entry, not allowing AOS doesn't make sense. But since when did immigration ever have to make sense?	Caryh	Male	Philippines	2012-06-19 11:00:00
Philippines	Vacation	A good description of the requirements. http://us.rpembassy.net/?p=8	Caryh	Male	Philippines	2012-06-18 16:08:00
Philippines	Vacation	Go with her through immigration, request the balikbayan stamp when entering. Double check they gave you one year on the stamp. She must use her Philippine passport on entering, or have proof she was born in the Philippines, such as her birth certificate or an expired passport.	Caryh	Male	Philippines	2012-06-18 15:41:00
Philippines	i got my noa 2 pls help not paid yet :/	Yep! that's that.. But my fiance said that in our noa1 hardcopy there's a date June 30,2012 as expiration.. we don't know what's that date for.. NOA1 no longer matters. You're operating on the NOA2 now. My wife's NOA1 for a K-1 didn't have any expiration date on it. The NOA2 should give you 4 months from approval to expiration, for you to get things completed. If you're running out of time, you can call the embassy and they can extend that date for you.	Caryh	Male	Philippines	2012-06-19 10:52:00
Philippines	i got my noa 2 pls help not paid yet :/	Yep my fiance and I talked over skype earlier about this noa2.. He asked me if he should call the USCIS this coming Wednesday (June 20) since we hit our 5mos mark last June 18 (monday). and I said I don't know.. maybe yes, just try.. I really don't know if we should call the uscis or we wait for noa2 to arrive we're so worried about the school thing of our child coming 1st grade this June but we took a risk not to enroll and secondly the expiration date that says on June 30, 2012 the petition will expire I am so lost! urgh! You mean the date that says this on the web page? OMB control no. 1615-0080 Expiration date 6-30-2012 That is an expiration date on the web page as part of a control system in the US government. It has nothing to do with your application expiration. You'll see a date for that when you get the NOA2. Don't worry, your application is not expiring on the 30th.	Caryh	Male	Philippines	2012-06-19 08:40:00
Philippines	Helping her to adjust to life here	My wife who I love dearly, found an old thumb drive I had forgotten about with some very incriminating pictures of one of my old Girlfriends posed on our bed. She got a whole new boardroom suite. Ah yes, be very careful with those old pictures. I had cleaned out all my old photos of my ex. But I had some stuff in storage though. Some was mine, some was stuff I have stored for my mother. Guess what showed up in those boxes? Pictures of my ex. Talk about trouble. Since then I've gone through all the old stored boxes searching for pictures that might include my ex. Yes I found more of them, pictures I had no idea were stored in boxes of mainly junk I've stored and neglected for years and years. My wife noticed in some of the photo books there were empty locations, she looked at me and said your ex, I just smiled and said maybe it was, I don't remember	Caryh	Male	Philippines	2012-06-21 09:14:00
Philippines	Helping her to adjust to life here	I'm just running into this homesickness issue now. Its hard watching her go through it, wishing there was something I could do to help her, but realizing I've done about all I can. She's been here four weeks now, and its really began to show its head on the second week after I had to go back to work. She texts home, to her sister mainly, and her mother to. But they're generally sleeping the hours I'm in the office. I'm trying to be supportive, but there's only so much a guy can do. She misses family and the ability to get anywhere in a jeepney mainly. Or at least that's what she's said. She has plenty of foods from home. She's made some friends here, but her first time out with them got canceled today. As to the clean house, I was told I did pretty good for a guy lol, but its never looked so good as it has since she got here.	Caryh	Male	Philippines	2011-10-06 15:24:00
Philippines	I'm getting squashed	Do you find it odd we refer to our wives as "My Filipina or My pinay" not knocking you, I have caught my self doing it, but have consciously forced myself to say my wife. My Filipina sounds just like I am saying "My dog" or "my lab". When she was my gf I found myself using that term. I don't think I often do now. But I seem to remember her calling me her Kano, so we're even	Caryh	Male	Philippines	2012-06-15 08:53:00
Philippines	I'm getting squashed	I think it's just something she ate. I did just kidnap a red eared slider who was walking down the street at the wrong time. We can satisfy our nurturing instinct by spoiling this little cutie. My wife keeps complaining she's getting skinny since she got here. When she was staying at home all day, it appeared she was gaining a little, we needed to buy her bigger jeans. Then she started working, and I think she's lost a few pounds. Its funny how a few pounds can make such a big difference on someone under 5 feet in height. I'm guessing as she adjusts to portion sizes here she'll put more on again. Myself on the other hand have put on even more weight with her arrival. I've stabilized now, but she considered it her job to fatten me up a bit or she wouldn't be a good wife	Caryh	Male	Philippines	2012-06-14 05:15:00
Philippines	I'm getting squashed	Does this mean there's a little one on the way? My wife feels like a heater cuddled up with me in bed. Usually I'm sleeping with the covers off trying to shed all the heat she throws my way, while she's all covered up. Many is the time we've drifted apart while sleeping and I find myself suddenly freezing.	Caryh	Male	Philippines	2012-06-13 08:51:00
Philippines	Medical Exam	It would be easier tot fly her to Mexico and have her run the border like the rest of the illegals than do this legally... ugh... Thanks for the information. Filipinos need a visa to get into Mexico to. Not sure how easy that is either, but I understand the sentiment behind your comment.	Caryh	Male	Philippines	2012-06-13 14:30:00
Philippines	Fed Ex customs and tax fees	Thank you for your replies....I was just wondering because FedEx told be that there will be customs and tax fees on delivery of the package. If I recall correctly, it was about 89 dollars each time I sent a package of documents to the Philippines through Fedex for my fiancée. She got them in about 3 days in Davao City. She paid nothing on her end with Fedex, if they charged a fee or customs tax, it was included in that. It was around 60 dollars via the postal service, took two weeks and they hit her up for 6000 Pesos to get the package from the post office. So it ended up being around $200 and two weeks to send the same sized document package via the postal service. Pretty much a no brainer on what was the better way.	Caryh	Male	Philippines	2012-06-22 09:53:00
Philippines	Fed Ex customs and tax fees	You should not have to pay customs fees for sending documents through Fedex. The postal service was forcing people to pay Custom Fees(actually Customary Bribes) a year ago for such documents. We switched to Fedex because it suddenly became much cheaper and was always faster on documents to my now wife.	Caryh	Male	Philippines	2012-06-22 09:29:00
Philippines	Tourist Visas for wedding...	A friend of my wife managed to get a tourist visa to the USA. They are not rich, she's married to an officer on a cargo ship, they own a home, and have four kids, she doesn't even have a job. It took her three tries before she got one. She kept listening to stories about needing show money, and how hard it was. I kept telling her just to tell the truth, she wanted a visa so she could join her husband on board ship at times, a privilege he has as an officer. She needed to talk about her kids, her home, and the reason etc... I'm sure when she was borrowing show money, she must have been extremely nervous hoping they don't find out she borrowed the money. Probably came off as hiding something and untruthful. When she went in for an interview without the borrowed show money and just told the truth, she got the visa. There's a ton of bad advice going around the Philippines on how to get a tourist visa to the USA. It mainly revolves around being dishonest and borrowing show money. I'm pretty sure the CO's see right through them. It doesn't hurt to try. If her parents work and own a home they'll have the best chance, but they need to honestly state their reason, and they've got a good reason, for visiting the USA. I've seen many Filipinas that have had their parents come for a visit, so its not impossible or as remote a chance as many would make you believe. My brother in law was worried about getting his USA visa renewed after my wife came here. He's a seaman, so its whatever that visa is that allows him to enter the USA that way. All they wanted to know is where his sister lived in the USA and he breezed right through as before.	Caryh	Male	Philippines	2012-06-22 09:26:00
Philippines	Airline question	We had the same type of issue. My fiancee was flying from Tacloban City on Cebu Pacific to meet me in Manila. Cebu Pacific required a copy of my credit card and ID. I simply scanned my drivers license and the credit card used to purchase her ticket and emailed them to her. She printed them out and had no problems at the airport. YES they did ask for the copies at check-in. I was going to say use Cebu Pacific because they don't require it. At least they never have when I've gotten tickets for my now wife. Could be because I've a long history with them now to. If you get her tickets on Delta, Delta will require you to go to a ticket counter and present your credit card and ID before she attempts to check in. They claim this is to protect you, but it really only protects them. If your credit card is stolen and you report it within 24 hours, it costs you nothing if someone has used it. If your don't report it, the worst you're out is $50. I don't know for others, but for me its costs at least $50 in gas and parking to go to the airport here, and that doesn't consider the half day it uses up either. So their method of protecting me made sure I had to spend as much as the worst case could of been had they not protected me.	Caryh	Male	Philippines	2012-05-17 10:37:00
Philippines	USA or PHL	I just heard that about the weather, that sucks.. Was going to head back to MN tonight for a weekend of fishing near Hayward, WI,, but I guess that is squashed... I guess more SML's please.. I'm not sure how the Hayward area made out. I don't think anything bad really or the media here would have at least mentioned it. As long as you don't need to pass through the Duluth area to get there, you're probably fine. The storm in the Duluth area stayed pretty much in that area. They say the hills and a bit of lake effect rain was most likely part of the reason they got hit so hard. Looks like a new 24 hour record for rainfall. I've seen some pretty wild pictures from friends of what happened, besides what the media has put out.	Caryh	Male	Philippines	2012-06-21 08:19:00
Philippines	USA or PHL	I don't miss living up there except when it times to go fishing... I had been planning to bring my wife up to Duluth soon. I was going to take her last weekend, then realized Grandma's marathon was going on, so we went southeast following the Mississippi River. Now it looks like we'll be waiting a bit longer before going up to Duluth. Maybe I'll take her fishing instead?	Caryh	Male	Philippines	2012-06-20 11:55:00
Philippines	USA or PHL	Minni-snow-da! My sister emailed that they got smacked with some serious wind and rain, no tornado though... she lives just south of the Twin Cites. I wouldn't mind summer up north but winters, no way! Winter in the Phils would be more appealing. South of the cities got hit pretty bad recently. Right now north of the cities is getting hit real hard. Duluth is flooding out and interstate 35 is shut down up there. "Up to 8 inches of rain fell on the area overnight and the soaking continued Wednesday."	Caryh	Male	Philippines	2012-06-20 10:31:00
Philippines	Manila DENIES K1 co-sponsors	I'm really sorry Beckyo that your plans were screwed up by a CO that won't accept your cosponsor. It might look dark now, but its not the end of the line, just a delay. The CO does not have to accept a cosponsor on a K-1, it is up to their discretion to accept a cosponsor regardless of the income and assets of the cosponsor. The CO is required to accept a cosponsor for a CR-1. If you need a cosponsor, its a ####### shoot in Manila on a K-1, some are allowed and some are not. But for the CR-1, the CO cannot deny based on using a cosponsor. The definite response is not "No, they do not accept cosponsors" because many K-1s have been approved using a cosponsor. The definitive response should be more like if you need a cosponsor and don't want to risk rejection of using one, go the CR-1 route because there is no guarantee they will accept one on a K-1.	Caryh	Male	Philippines	2012-06-22 07:03:00
Philippines	Internet Love or not to Love?	Why don't you try meeting a Filipina on one of those sites and tell her up front that you have no money, will never be able to send any, and that you plan to give up your job and any money or assets you have to go live with her in the province in the same house she grew up in. Let's see what happens. Well I didn't meet my wife on one of those sites, but she's been here 9 months and she'd still be happier if I did just that. She honestly would prefer to live back in the Philippines even though life is economically better for her here. She was never looking for a green card. She was never looking for more money. She was looking for someone who would be faithful, love her and show they love her every day. She found that in me, and although she finds life harder here than in the Philippines, she stays because of me.	Caryh	Male	Philippines	2012-06-25 06:43:00
Philippines	Internet Love or not to Love?	People lie more online. Google search provides studies showing over 80% lie on dating site profiles. The top lies: women lie about their weight and men lie about their income. How telling! So it seems ordinarily decent people can't help themselves when their "facts" can't be checked. Online romance dictates strategies to neutralize lying. The most effective way to eliminate the lies of the women: a nude chat session straight off. For the men, show their tax returns for the last 3 years before seeing his picture. This is the best data-based science I can give free of charge. So will a new internet dating pickup line be established soon? "I'll show you my 1040 if you'll show me your 36's"	Caryh	Male	Philippines	2012-06-20 16:17:00
Philippines	Dual Citizenship, marriage and baby ^_^	Oh yeah, if your fiance needs parental consent, you might have to bring his parents to your local city health office. The city health office in Cebu required my parents to appear in person and sign the parental consent form in front of an attorney. Oh, and they asked for valid ID's from each of my parents. I'm not sure if it works the same in every city. You've got that right, every city seems to interpret that law differently. Which is why getting the Embassy capacity to marry affidavit will make life easier for her at least.	Caryh	Male	Philippines	2012-06-25 15:29:00
Philippines	Dual Citizenship, marriage and baby ^_^	Bitsu, You are welcome! Oh, and congrats on the little one! Dad must be excited! Initially, we supplied her parents with a parental advice form from Iloilo City and they filled it out for us. When we took this form to the city to get our pre-marital certificate - they refused it! They did so on the grounds that that her parents local gov't entity must be the one that issues the form! Sheesh! Well we got the local BRGY/City version in her hometown of the form and had them re-fill it out and gave it to the Iloilo City as requested and then received our pre-marital certificate - wahoo! So make sure your fiancé's parents are the ones that get the form from their local BRGY/city government office and have them fill that one out. If I remember correctly, this form was also stamped by the BRGY/city government after they filled it out. This is, I suppose, a way to minimize fraud? Not sure. Look at your US passport. Does it have an inbound stamp from the RP? If not, get one by traveling out and back in. As someone else stated earlier, since you are an American Citizen of adult age (more than 17 years of age) you do not require a parental advice form. If your fiancé is of sufficiently advanced age, neither does he (is that 25? not sure - I'd check to make sure) Just one less thing to do during a stress period of your life . . . . Her's a few links: How to get the "American CENOMAR" Travel Advisory for U.S. Citizens Laws and Requirements for Marriage in the Philippines I really like site . . . great info for non-natives and RP citizens alike . . . Good Luck! Mark Philippines law requires Philippines citizens to enter and exit the country using their Philippines passport. Just as the USA requires its citizens to enter the USA using a USA passport. If she's not taking advantage of her Philippines citizenship, she would have been limited as a USA tourist, and had a much shorter stay than it sounds like she has had. Unless she entered with her Philippine citizen parent, where she could have taken advantage of the Balikbayan privilege and stayed for one year on a USA passport. That said, what she does in country in regards marrying is not dependent on how she entered the country. She can get the capacity to marry from the embassy like any other USA citizen, again it doesn't matter how she entered the country.	Caryh	Male	Philippines	2012-06-25 15:27:00